Monday 19.05.2025, 15:15 via Zoom

Shermeen Yousif, Ph.D., is a tenure-track assistant professor and the director of the Environmental Design and Natural Materials (EDNM) lab at the School of Architecture, Florida Atlantic University. Her interdisciplinary research sits at the confluence of artificial intelligence, advanced computational design methods, and performance-based design systems. More recently, her EDNM lab has focused on using environmental design methods, AI strategies and tools, and robotic fabrication to investigate the design and extrusion of performance-driven biomaterial-based architectural design prototypes. Shermeen is also the founder and director of Deep-Ecology Design Studio, a research-driven practice dedicated to exploring innovative architectural projects. The studio integrates generative AI methodologies with environmental performance simulations to develop Net-Zero building designs and achieve resilience and decarbonization in architecture.
Shermeen’s research contributions have resulted in the development of several computational methods and frameworks to augment generative design systems, including performance-driven systems. She has authored numerous double-blind peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and other scholarly outputs. Her work has garnered multiple awards and research grants, including the AIA Fort Lauderdale Award for Research (2024), the AIA Florida Award for Research (2022, 2024), the AIA Fort Lauderdale Educator of the Year Award (2023), and the FAU Broward Faculty of the Year Award (2024). She was also elected to the ACADIA Board of Directors for 2023–2025 and the IJAC Editorial Board (2025–2027), among other distinctions.
Shermeen has been invited to speak at multiple national and international venues, such as Perkins Eastman, where she delivered a keynote lecture on AI and architecture during their Technology Marathon in 2023. As a featured speaker, she was invited to speak at multiple venues, including the Smart Cities MIAMI Conference in April 2024, the AutoRobo Expo 2024, and DigitalFutures (2020, 2021, 2022, 2024). More recently, Shermeen has been invited to be a keynote speaker for the Largest Global Meet on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (Robotics-2025) happening on July 24–26, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan. Additionally, Shermeen has actively contributed to and participated in international computational conferences, including ACADIA, CAAD-Futures, and CAADRIA, and has been actively serving on the ACADIA Board of Directors (2023–2025) and the ACADIA International Journal of Architectural Computing Editorial Board (2025–2027).